A theologian once said
"Feeling guilty is the greatest form of self-righteousness".
Think about that statement for a bit. Let it sink in.
*This is the part where you reflect on the last statement for at least a short while.*
With the last thought still in your mind, here are some questions for you:
How many of you have tried to stop sinning, but seem to fail everytime?
Or how many of you implemented a couple of ways to stop sinning, which worked for a while, only to fall again and beat yourself over it?
How many of you feel guilty for falling into the same temptations and sins all over again?
I raise my hands for every question asked.
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Everyone sins. Thats why everyone needs grace. We don't need people telling us we have sinned or done wrong, because the Holy Spirit convicts us. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and saviour, you no longer need to know when you have done wrong. You just know.
I once heard a respectable christian leader say to me, "I think pastor _______ preaches too much grace."
I was taken aback. Something inside me told me that it wasn't right. It was by grace that we were saved. It was by grace that we can call God our Daddy. It was by grace that we receive all the blessings in our life. And just recently, I learned that it was by grace that I can defeat sinning.
I tried everything I could to best stop myself from falling into sin over and over again. I tried sticking up scriptures around to remind me. I treid memorised scriptures. I tried reading the Bible when tempted. I tried to avoid situations that would tempt me to sin. I tried, and I tried. And I kept failing, and kept feeling guilty and condemned. And then I realised why the battle never seemed to end. It was because I kept trying.
Romans 8:2
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Romans 6:14
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
I finally got it. After hearing about God's grace so many times, the truth finally sank in. The more I tried, the worse it got. Trying to defeat sin by works is like trying to fulfil God's law! If it were possible in the first place to 'stop sinning', Jesus wouldn't have to come at all! It was because God KNEW that we wouldn't be able to fulfil the law that Christ came! None of us deserved it! Thats grace!
As I came to know more and more about God's grace for me, the less powerful the temptation of sin was to me. I began to stop noticing sin, and stopped focusing on it. The less I tried to 'stop sinning', the more I suceeded in defeating sin. It's like sin's grip on me has suddenly weakened as this revelation dawned upon me. The more I realised this truth, the less guilty I felt. After all, feeling guilty from falling into sin is pretty much saying Jesus' work was useless.
Let us not mock the work of the cross by feeling guilty and beating ourselves over it. After all, Romans 8:1 says
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...
For those of you who are going through the same situation as I am, I hope this message encourages you. God bless.
